Electronic program control

Abstract

This disclosure illustrates and describes an electronic program control for controlling the filling operation for cartons supplied by one turret mechanism having a plurality of equally spaced mandrels to a compartmented conveyor which carries the cartons in pairs beneath a pair of filler nozzles. The electronic program control includes the switches, AND gates, shift registers and flip flops required to assure that, in the event a carton is missing for any reason from a conveyor compartment, the appropriate filler nozzle will not be actuated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
       1. In an electronic program control for controlling the filling of cartons on a machine having a conveyor indexing at a particular rate and a plurality of mandrels for carrying cartons and indexing at twice the rate of the conveyor, said cartons being bottom sealed on said mandrels and transferred from successive mandrels onto the indexing conveyor so as to be indexed in aligned pairs beneath dual filler units, and the circuitry therefor, the combination comprising: (a) a carton detection switch for detecting the passage therepast of said individual cartons and providing a signal for each;   (b) a carton clock switch for providing two signals for each index of said conveyor;   (c) a fill-off switch for providing a signal for each index of said mandrels;   (d) a pre-fill start switch for providing a signal for each index of said conveyor;   (e) first and second AND gates for providing respective signals upon receipt of simultaneous signals from each of said carton detection, carton clock, and fill-off switches;   (f) first and second shift registers for providing respective signals upon receipt of simultaneous signals from each of said respective first and second AND gates, said carton clock switch, and said fill-off switch; and   (g) first and second flip flops for providing respective signals to said respective dual filler units upon receipt of simultaneous signals from each of said respective shift registers and said pre-fill start switch, for assuring that said respective filler units are operative only when a carton is indexed therebeneath.   
     
     
       2. The combination described in claim 1, wherein said carton detection switch is positioned at one of the mandrel loading, carton stripping, and other carton processing stations upstream of said dual filler units. 
     
     
       3. The combination described in claim 1, wherein said carton detection switch is positioned at the carton stripping station. 
     
     
       4. The combination described in claim 1, wherein said two carton clock switch signals occur during alternate dwell times of said indexing mandrels. 
     
     
       5. The combination described in claim 1, including drive and driven shafts in said machine, said drive shaft driving said mandrels, and said driven shaft driving said conveyor. 
     
     
       6. The combination described in claim 5, and a 180° out-of-phase cam mounted on said driven shaft for actuating said carton clock switch twice for each revolution of said driven shaft. 
     
     
       7. The combination described in claim 5, and a cam mounted on said driven shaft for actuating said pre-fill start switch once for each revolution of said driven shaft. 
     
     
       8. The combination described in claim 5, and a cam mounted on said drive shaft for actuating said fill-off switch once for each revolution of said drive shaft. 
     
     
       9. The combination described in claim 1, and an AND gate operatively connected to each flip flop. 
     
     
       10. The combination described in claim 1, wherein said fill-off switch signals both of said flip flops to reset same whereby filling is interrupted when a container is not beneath one of said dual filler units.